Tanning apparatus



(No Model.)

G. S. TUN STEAD.

TANNING APPARATUS.

No. 408,395. Patented Aug. 6, 1 889.,

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE S. TUNSTEAD, OF N EIVARK, NEIV JERSEY.

TANNING APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 408,395, dated August6, 1889..

l 7 Application filed September 26, 1888. Serial No. 286,416. (Nomodel.)

To all whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, GEORGE S. TUNSTEAD, a citizen of the United States,residing at Newark, in the county of Essex and State of New Jersey, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Tanning Apparatus; and Ido hereby declare the following; to be a full, clear, and exactdescription of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in theart to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being hadto the accompanying drawings, and to letters of reference markedthereon, which form a part of this specification.

The object of my invention is to facilitate the process of tanning skinsand hides, to improve the quality of the leather as to strength anddurability, and lessen the cost of manufacture.

The invention consists in the improved p recess of tanning hereindescribed and in the improved tanning-machine, and in the coinbinationsand arrangements of parts substantially as Will be hereinafter setforth, and finally embodied in the clauses of the claim.

Referring to the accompanying drawings,

in which like letters of reference indicate corwhich the machine rests.

b is the bottom of a tank for holding the tanning-liquid.

c is a liquor-tank.

(Z is a drum for holding the skins and hides to be tanned, divided intosections by rods and bars.

e e are doors hinged to the sides of openings f in the drums, one ofthese openings being shown with the door open, as in Fig. 4, and closed,as inFig. 1.

g is a revolving shaft to which the drum is attached,and runs inbearings h 011 the frame a.

t 7 are strips connecting the sides of the drum at their outerperiphery, and of a form to leave angular openings t" t", Fig. 3,through which the tanning-liquor can enter the drum as it passes throughthe tank.

k are lugs or bars on the inside periphery of the drum, and extendingfrom side to side, and having their corners or edges beveled, as shownin Fig. 3.

m m are a series of square rods or bars extending through the drum onlines at right angles to each other, with their corners or edgesslightly rounded, so as not to injure the skins or hides.

a n are oblong bars or rods placed alternately to said bars m, withtheir corners or edges similarly rounded, and are arranged with theirlongest surface in the manner shown in Fig. 3. cut size and shape fromthe bars m, so as to present an irregular surface for the skin to pitchupon as the drum revolves. Between these bars on m and n n are spacesthrough which the tanning-liquid can readily flow from one section ofthe drum to the other when it is revolved. The bars at are secured tolugs 0 on shaft g. p is a driving-pulley on said shaft g.

In operation the tank is filled with the tanning-liquid. The skins orhides to be tanned are then placed, by means of the openings, in thesections of the drum, the skins being placed in each of the sections 1,2, 3, and 4, and the doors tightly closed. The hide in section 1, Fig.3,will rest on the bars forming the horizontal division in the drum. Asthe drum revolves in the direction of the arrow, the hide in section 1will pitch over the edges of the bars m and it toward the outside edgeof the drum, and will then pitch over the lugs or bars 70 7a, toward thebottom of the drum. As the machine continues to revolve it will then bepitched backward along the bars k 7.1, and when it has reached the barson and 01, forming the other wall of the section, the hide will then, asthe drum continues to revolve, be taken up by the bars m and n, andpitch down over said bars to the center of said drum, thence the hidewill pitch over the bars m and it toward the outside edge of the drum,when it will pitch along the bars 70 it, until it falls back on the barson n in the position it started. It will thus be seen that each skinThese bars 11 are of differ.

is continually pitched backward and forward upon the bars, and duringone-half of the revolution of the drum is continually in contact withthe tanning-liquid. This continual pitching and tumbling over the slatssoftens and thoroughly works the hide, opens its pores and forces in thetanning-liquor, which, as the hide passes out of the tank, is beingdriven out by the same process until, by the revolution of the drum, thehide has again reached the tank. This operation is repeated until thehides are sufficiently tanned. The spaces between the bars should not belarge enough to allow the hide to slip through.

The revolution of the drum in the tank keeps the tanning-liquorcontinually agitated and mixed, and consequently of even strength, andis uniformly distributed through the drum.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim as new is- 1. In atanning apparatus, a hollow rotating drum with obliquely-perforatedcovering, and having longitudinally-extending slats 70 secured to itsinner periphery, said drum being also divided into two or more sect-ionsby means of bars on and n, forming perforated partitions with unevensurfaces, each section being provided with a door in the side, asdescribed, and for thepurposes set forth.

2. In a tanning apparatus, the combination, with a base and adriving-shaft running in bearings on said base, of a tank adapted toreceive the tanning-liquid, and a hollow drum secured to saiddriving-shaft having an obliquelyperforated covering, andlongitudinally-extending slats lc, secured to its inner periphery, saiddrum being also divided into two or more sections by means of bars inand n, forming perforated partitions with uneven surfaces, each sectionbeing provided with a door in the side, all as set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand this13th day of August, 1888.

GEORGE S. TUNSTEAD.

Witnesses:

E. L. SHERMAN, J. S. MoCoRY.

